Ger30, UK100 and SP500 are CFD’s, written over the Dax30, Footsie100 and S&P500 Index futures:
European stock markets ended the session with valuations, albeit contained. On one hand, there was pressure on the tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum imposed by President Donald Trump, and this theme was rekindled after President Trump said that in addition to Candá and Mexico, US trading partners who have a fair competitive position could also be exempt from such taxes. On the other hand, markets were favored by the US employment report, as well as reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered to stop nuclear and missile tests and the US president agreed to a meeting of two leaders that may happen before May. In the business field, the main highlights were the producers of raw materials and, in the negative, the falls in the automotive sector stood out in view of the new tariffs on steel and aluminum in USA, which are expected to come into effect on March 23, raising fears about global trade.
The US market was trading higher in a session that focused mainly on the employment report, in addition to the continuing uncertainties associated with the issue of tariffs in the country for steel and aluminum. During the month of February, the US economy created 313,000 jobs, compared to 200,000 expected, while the unemployment rate reached 4.10%, against the expected 4%. Wage growth was 2.60% on a yearly basis and 0.10% on a monthly basis, that is, it fell short of an estimated 2.080% increase. After the increase in wages in January (2.90%) and Jerome Powell’s intervention in Congress, markets were forced to consider the hypothesis of 4 benchmark rate increases. However, now that wage growth in February was lower than the 2.80% then investors will find that the February reading fits more in the observations registered in 2017 and that they translate an upward trend of wages, and not so much in the case more isolated from the month of January.
